On sock hiatus

I was away on holidays for a week and then needed a week to recover. While I agonized over what knitting to bring I did very little knitting - I was waaaaaay too exhausted chasing after my two year old all day in Disneyland.

Anyways, I have some major knitting mojo since getting back and while setting aside socks for awhile I have made some awesome progress on other projects. I finished my Lu sweater/wrap and LOVE IT. Already know I will make another one in a different yarn
I have also started a Knitting Pure and Simple children's bolero in 100purewool 'Hardly' colorway.
And still chugging away on my sea silk Montego Bay scarfIn spinning news, I got some lovely rovings from my Summer of Yarn Love swap pal and have my first bobbin of Crown Mountain Farms Corriedale pencil roving (Dance of the Dervish) done. It is the first of three as I attempt my very first 3-ply sock yarn.

FO Satisfaction

Mr. Greenjeans is done - ends need to be woven in and needs blocking. Overall I am happy with it. The fit is baggier than I would like but it will still make a nice cozy sweater for the fall/winter. For my first sweater I am very happy with it.

Also finally finished my Spring Forward socks - love the pattern and will probably make them again. The repeat is easy to memorize but not boring and looks pretty cute!

In spinning news, I worked up some yummy Fleece Artist merino that I got from the fiber fest:

and made this

And in the mail this week I got my Ravelry organic cotton tote. It is so cute and perfect for holding my spinning fibers - and yes I also got a whole bunch of fiber as well that it is currently stuffed full of. Right now I am working up some corrie pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms.

The spinning madness continues...

and yes my knitting has been languishing...a bit.

Here is my half done Noro scarf -just so it looks like I have still been knitting ;)

Here is some stuff that has come of my wheel this week:

2-ply alpaca merino fingering weight - this stuff was dreamy to spin. I am looking forward to the alpaca fleeces I have on their way to me.

Some stuff from exclusivelylindalee: pima cotton in "sunflowers" and a mixed batt of Merino, Tencel, Blue Face Leicester, and Corriedale called "Mojave Nights". The pima cotton was very difficult to draft evenly but the end product is still very pretty.

The mixed batt was my first time spinning from a batt and it was interesting working out a good pre-draft to include the mix of colors I wanted.

Summer Dreamin...

Okay so this has been a week of major fiber indulgence. Last Saturday my birthday spoils included a Lendrum DT complete set, in addition to some lovely bamboo and corriedale fibers.

I also snagged some raw fibre for $2!! It was quite dirty and has a lot of VM that I am still working through but it started like this

and when cleaned up looks like this

It is soft and fluffy and I can hardly wait to spin it.

This is some stuff that came off my wheel this week:

And my knitting has been taking a backseat but I did finish my first spring Ahead sock and working on the heel flap of my second.

I also got my first package from my Summer of Yarn swap pal that contained two lovely skeins of deep blue malabrigo - yummy! Thanks swap pal! I hope I am not too hard to shop for - right now my desires seem to be drawn towards spinning - although sock yarn still has a dear place in my heart ;)

For the Summer Memory contest: I am currently making what will be some of my most treasured summer memories. I am spending the summer at home with my daughter and these long, lazy days just sitting in the backyard watching her play while I knit or spin or prep fibre could not be more perfect. I feel so lucky and blessed to able to have this time with her and be a part of her growing up.

Reasons to smile today:

1. Last day of school - whoohooo!!! Long, lazy days of summer knitting and spinning here I come!!

2. Tomorrow is my birthday and we are going to the Olds Fiber Festival where my dear hubby is going to buy me my first spinning wheel, and I am going to indulge in fiber, fiber and more fiber...oh and yarn too...

3. Next week two of my LYS's will be having sales!!! Yes, I feel it is a sign that since this will be during my "birthday week" I should be given free reign to spoil myself!

4. Happy, happy mail day. Received my long coveted Lexie Barnes Flo in my absolute FAVORITE LB print, and two new spinning books from Amazon:



My new LB bag inspired me to take a picture of my LB collection:
Yes it is an addiction but it makes me HAPPY :)

Spinning Frenzy!!!

So I went to my Beginner Spinning class last Saturday at Make1 Yarn Studio and it was awesome. Amy Swenson was the instructor - she was super nice and easy going, very encouraging despite any spinning mishaps. Let's just say my attempt at Andean plying left me in a bit of a tangled mess, but still look what lovely product resulted:



And here have been my other attempts this week:

So I am totally hooked on spinning now and since next weekend is my birthday and coincidentally it falls on the exact same day we are going to Olds Fiber Week - my hubby is getting me a wheel!!! I am so excited I can hardly stand it!! At the top of my list are a Lendrum or a Schacht Ladybug. I am hoping to try a bunch of different wheels out before making my final decision.

In knitting news, Mr. Greenjeans is hibernating. I need to rip out the one sleeve I completed because it is way huge. I am going to finish the button band first so I can see how the sweater sits on my shoulders. I am hoping this will give me a better idea for sleeve length - I want a 3/4 length and right now it is hard to guesstimate where that will be because I can't tell exactly where the sweater will close yet.

I also started my June socks - there are the Spring Forward pattern from the latest summer Knitty. Chose a spring-y colorway - STR in Calico. So far loving the pattern and how the colors are working up.

I swung by Pam's Wooly Shoppe yesterday to check out their selection of wheels (they carry Lendrum and Ashford) but the lady working did not know anything about spinning sadly. Still I was able to pick up a couple of practice rovings and best of all my long-lusted for sock blockers. There are unfinished and not fancy but less than ten bucks!! And I can easily sand and stain them myself. Here they are showing off my latest sock WIP:
Here is a cool sock project needle-keep I got off etsy from marelle:

It's very sturdy and perfect for keeping my DPNs safe from breakage or dropped stitches.

Look what I got from my Mystery Theme swap!

The theme was organic/earth-friendly - some beautiful organic yarns from Elann, cute patterns, and lovely Brittany needles. I can't wait - the pakucho is perfect for summer knitting.

And a few pics of knitting:

I finished my May socks (basic stockinette using self-patterning Online Beach - pretty boring but I needed a quick knit to get caught up and start my June socks). I plan to cast on the new Spring Ahead pattern from the latest knitty.

Here is the first square from my Lizard ridge Afghan. I am slowly collecting single balls of random Noro Kureyon colors. Can't get enough Noro - the colors are positively scrumptious.
And last but not least - my second spinning attempt with some merino roving from Doodlebirds Creations:
I am still doing "park and draft" which is slow but I am enjoying the process and watching the fibre twist - it is so satisfying!!

Here is a close up of the yarn: